ESA to supply Service Module for first crewed Orion mission

7 December 2016

ESA and NASA are extending their collaboration in human space exploration following confirmation that Europe will supply a second Service Module to support the first crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft.

Orion with European Service Module

The Service Module provides propulsion, electrical power, water and thermal control as well as maintaining the oxygen and nitrogen atmosphere for the crew.

The mission is set for launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, as early as 2021 and will include up to four astronauts – the first time humans have left low orbit since 1972. Crew size and composition will be determined closer to launch.

The mission will see Orion follow three progressively elongated orbits to reach past the Moon and return to Earth, faster than any manned spacecraft has reentered our atmosphere before.

ESA’s Director of Human Spaceflight, Dave Parker, says, “We are excited to be a part of this historic mission and appreciate NASA’s trust in us to help extend humanity’s exploration farther afield into our Solar System.”

The first Orion with the service module will be launched in late 2018 on NASA’s new Space Launch System. The month-long mission will be unmanned and will orbit the Moon before returning to Earth, testing the spacecraft and rocket before carrying astronauts.

Automated Transfer Vehicle

The European Service Module is designed, built and assembled by a team of companies from 11 countries led by Airbus Space & Defence, based on proven technology from ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle that flew to the International Space Station five times with supplies.

The mission and collaboration with NASA is part of ESA’s vision to prepare for future voyages of exploration further into the Solar System, and continues the spirit of international cooperation that forms the foundation of the International Space Station.

Goodbye Europe, hello Moon: European Module ships soon30 October 2018
The European Service Module that will power and propel the Orion spacecraft on its first mission around the Moon will ship early next week from Bremen to the United States. It will take off in an Antonov An-124 aircraft in the early hours of 5 Novembe...

Orion’s first Service Module integration complete18 September 2018
Last week at the Airbus integration hall in Bremen, Germany, technicians installed the last radiator on the European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft marking the module’s finished integration.
ESA’s European service module will provide powe...

Fuel tanks and wings for Orion module23 April 2018
The European service module that will provide power, water, air and electricity to NASA’s Orion Moon module has taken a large step closer to completion with the installation of its fuel tanks and testing of its solar wings.
Orion will eventually fly...

The road to Orion’s launch09 November 2017
NASA’s Orion spacecraft aims to send humans further into space than ever before, and ESA’s European Service Module will provide the essentials for keeping the astronauts alive and on course.
A review of the programme by NASA to assess progress is now...

Critical design milestone for Orion’s European service module27 June 2016
ESA and NASA completed the Orion spacecraft European Service Module Critical Design Review on 16 June. The European Service Module will power NASA’s Orion spacecraft beyond the Moon in late 2018.
With the Critical Design Review finished, building and...

Orion test sets stage for ESA service module 05 December 2014
Today’s flight and splashdown of NASA’s first Orion spacecraft paves the way for future human exploration beyond low orbit powered by ESA’s European Service Module.

European Orion milestone leads to detailed design23 May 2014
ESA is a step closer to building the future of human spaceflight and exploration in Europe by completing the preliminary design review of Europe’s Service Module for NASA’s Orion vehicle to send astronauts beyond low orbit.